Janis Joplin
USA, 1962–1970
American singer (1943-1970) from Port Arthur, Texas, who came to prominence with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Her blues-derived, rough-toned delivery is heard on Cheap Thrills and the posthumous Pearl.
MusicRoots documents 5 artists who influenced Janis Joplin and 3 artists Janis Joplin influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Janis Joplin?
- Bessie Smith — Bessie Smith was Joplin's primary vocal model; Janis paid for Bessie's gravestone in 1970.
- Ma Rainey — Ma Rainey is the root of the classic blues vocal tradition Joplin drew from through Bessie Smith.
- Odetta — Odetta was Joplin's primary folk-blues model at the start of her career.
- Wanda Jackson — Wanda Jackson showed that a woman could sing rock with the same raw energy as any man.
- Ray Charles — Ray Charles was a key influence on Joplin, who absorbed his gospel-blues synthesis.
Which artists did Janis Joplin influence?
- P!nk — The voice she reached for once she stopped making R&B records — Joplin's blues shouting, done in a pop arrangement.
- Donna Summer — Summer was inspired by rock singers including Janis Joplin — the raw rock power that fed her later new-wave and rock turns.
- Bonnie Tyler — Janis Joplin was Tyler's other great early idol — the bluesy, rasping abandon behind Tyler's gravel-voiced rock delivery.